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Wilder vs. Fury 2 preview, picks: 1 fighter will dominate

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The two top heavyweights in the world meet Saturday night. Deontay Wilder (42-0-1) will defend his WBC heavyweight title against Tyson Fury (30-0-1) in their much-anticipated rematch. Here is a betting preview, along with the top picks for Saturday's showdown.

Odds

Wilder is the -125 favorite with Fury sitting at -105. Money has come in on the champion over the past week and that trend is expected to continue as we get closer to the fight. Oddsmakers think the most likely outcome is Wilder finishing Fury. He's +115 to win by KO/TKO, but a much longer +1000 to win by decision. Meanwhile, if Fury wins, the odds are in favor of the fight going the distance. Fury is +160 to win by decision and +500 to end the fight by KO/TKO.

Another unsatisfying draw is +2300, which is always worth a shot in the fight game. The total for the fight is 10.5 rounds with the under juiced to -118.

Matchup

Wilder and Fury fought to a controversial draw back in 2018. Fury controlled that fight for long stretches and his unorthodox style confused Wilder, especially in the early rounds. However, Wilder showed why he's the most feared puncher in the heavyweight division, dropping Fury twice and almost ending the fight in Round 12. To this day, it's hard to imagine how Fury got up from Wilder's vicious right-left combination that would have put any other heavyweight fighter to sleep.

I personally thought Fury did enough to win the first fight, but the knockdown in the 12th earned Wilder a draw and he kept his title. Expect a different fight on Saturday night. Wilder connected on just 71 of 430 punches (17%) in the first meeting and Fury out-landed the heavyweight champ in nine of the 12 rounds. Part of that had to do with Fury frustrating Wilder. However, there were rumblings that Wilder was sick the night of the fight and he wasn't able to maintain his normal sparring schedule leading up to it.

Wilder is praised for his power, but he's also a very intelligent fighter. While he had trouble closing the distance and figuring out Fury in the first fight, expect to see a much more aggressive Wilder on Saturday. The heavyweight champion has finished 41 of 43 opponents in his career, but as Fury showed in the first bout, he has arguably the best chin in the heavyweight division. The Gypsy King has never been knocked out in 30 career fights.

Picks

Wilder -125 (Best Bet)

Wilder to win by decision +1000

I bet Fury the first time and I still feel like he won. This time, I love Wilder at -125. Wilder proved he could get to Fury in a fight where he clearly wasn't at the top of his game. In the two years since, Fury parted ways with longtime trainer Ben Davison and spent time in the WWE. Look for Wilder to establish his jab early, knowing how hard it is to finish Fury. Because of his power, Wilder's boxing skills are extremely underrated, and I expect them to be displayed more in the rematch.

Wilder -125 is my top play, but I'm also taking a shot on the heavyweight champion winning by decision at +1000. While I do believe Fury will get into trouble again Saturday night, the guy is harder to knock out than Rocky Balboa. Don't be surprised if the fight goes the distance again with Wilder winning a convincing decision.

Thomas Casale is theScore's supervising editor of sports betting. He's been following the sports betting industry for almost 30 years. A devoted fan of the wishbone offense, Thomas bets on all sports but specializes in college football, NFL, and college basketball. Find him on Twitter @TheTomCasale.

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